The present invention relates in general to recreational balls and, more particularly, relates to baseballs, softballs and similar balls that are typically associated with the game of baseball and related games.
Safety, performance and durability are three extremely important considerations when selecting a baseball or similar recreational ball. Usually safety is sacrificed for performance and/or durability, but balls have also been constructed in which safety has been emphasized to the point at which performance and durability are so sub-standard as to be unacceptable.
The composite safety ball of the present invention is a ball having performance and durability characteristics making its use by skilled college or even major league baseball players as a safe training ball, not only feasible, but highly desirable. The ball retains its shape and resiliency, even under demanding and repeated use and under adverse environmental conditions, and does not suffer intolerable degradation of its performance characteristics. Moreover, the safety ball of the present invention may be used as a recreation ball by relatively unskilled players without gloves or protective equipment and may even be used indoors, with little or no risk of injury to players or risk of physical damage to property. Finally, the safety ball of the present invention has performance characteristics enabling it to be used as a game ball for the play of competitive games requiring substantial skill.
The durable and safe training, recreational and game ball of the present invention can be produced in several sizes including baseball and softball sizes. A standard or regulation baseball, sometimes called a "hardball," weighs approximately 5 ounces (143 grams) and has a circumference of about 9 inches (22.9 centimeters). Regulation baseballs are composite balls constructed of a cork and rubber core around which yarn is wrapped and a leather cover sewn. Virtually everyone who has ever played with a regulation baseball is well aware of the reason for referring to it as a "hardball." The hardness of regulation baseballs, in fact, poses very substantial safety and training problems.
A so-called "softball" is in fact a baseball of larger diameter than a regulation baseball, but a ball that is still quite firm or hard. Regulation softballs come in five sizes, with the approximately 12 inch (30.5 centimeter) circumference ball being most widely used, the 16 inch (40.6 centimeter) circumference ball gaining in acceptance and use, and 10 inch (20.5 centimeter), 11 inch (27.9 centimeter) and 14 inch (35.6 centimeter) softballs used to a lesser degree. While the density of softballs is less than that of a hardball, softballs are still quite hard and also pose safety problems as well as training problems, particularly for younger players.
Both regulation baseballs and softballs are covered with a leather cover that is formed from two pieces that are sewn together by hand with herring bone stitching. The stitching tends to form ridges which affect the aerodynamics of the balls and facilitate the throwing of pitches which break, curve or slide during their trajectory. Unfortunately, however, the leather or simulated leather cover of regulation baseballs and softballs also combines with the relatively hard or firm construction of the cores of the balls to produce a composite ball which not only can seriously injure a player, but, at a minimum, will sting and traumatize the player's skin upon impact.
The importance of having both safety and performance in a regulation baseball can be readily illustrated by considering the training techniques used by professional athletes. Highly skilled and highly paid players spend many hours in team and individual practice. They seek to refine their skills and develop confidence. Conventionally such training has utilized regulation baseballs, but the players are exposed to considerable risk of being hit and seriously injured by batted or thrown balls. As a result, players are ever alert to the possibility of being hit by the baseball, which tends to build tightness instead of confidence. Foul tips and wild pitches are responsible for numerous broken fingers, thumbs, noses, and other injuries, and yet a catcher needs to practice holding on to foul pitches and catching pitches in the dirt. Pitchers must practice fielding, and yet their close proximity to the batter results in serious injuries every year from batted balls. Crushed cheek bones, chipped teeth, concussions and eye injuries can and do occur to pitchers during practice sessions, as well as games. Runners get hit with batted balls and thrown balls while practicing base running. Infielders must indure bad hops, poor throws and line drives, and outfieldes will lose balls in the sun or have them blown in the wind. All batters must learn to stand in the batter's box against curves and sliders, mixed with 90 mile per hour and faster fast balls. Bruised arms, legs, and feet and concussions are predictable occurrences.
These dangers are present from the major leagues down to sandlot and little league play. In lower levels the balls tend to travel somewhat more slowly, but the player skills are substantially less, making the risk of injury, even during training or practice, still quite significant.
During the off-season, many professional baseball players engage in training exercises on their own. Every year a player may hit thousands of balls off a hitting tee and/or balls pitched from a pitching machine. Usually such off-season practice takes place indoors, and while it does not normally endanger the player, the risk of property damage is substantial. Most players use netting or a blanket to catch or retard balls, but balls invariably are hit around or even through such protective devices and cause considerable damage.
Attempts have previously been made to produce a composite recreational ball which is safe and sting-free upon impact with a player. Typical of such prior art attempts have been the balls constructed in accordance with U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,257,598 and 4,261,565 issued to Massino. In the construction of these balls, the rubber and cork core of a regulation baseball has been replaced by a rolled or folded cloth core, which is held together by an adhesive or cohesive tape and covered by a double knit polyester cover.
Baseball and softball size balls constructed in accordance with the Massino patents are being marketed under the trademark RAG BALL. The RAG BALL baseball has a weight which is approximately one-half the weight of a regulation baseball, and the RAG BALL softball has a weight which is approximately three-quarters of the weight of a regulation softball. The cloth core of a RAG BALL composite ball is not highly compressed and the overall ball is very soft. Thus, a combination of lower ball density, core softness and a double knitted polyester cover produces balls which are safe and do not sting when they strike a player.
Any composite safety baseball or softball optimally should have a performance level making it useful as a training tool for truly skilled players. These balls should not sail when pitched hard because of their light weight, they should have realistic and reproducible rebound characteristics, and they should maintain their shape during normal use, particularly when repeatedly used for batting practice.
Major league, college, high school and even little league players must have a training ball that has performance characteristics which are close enough to that of a regulation ball that the time spent in training will build useable skills, not lull the player into developing poor habits which will not suffice under game conditions with a regulation ball.
In addition to the performance requirement, a composite ball construction should have good durability. Thus, repeated use should not cause the balls to lose resiliency and their shape. Deterioration should not be exacerbated by water, which is predictably present during the use of the balls.
It should be noted further that there are other soft recreation balls on the market. Thus, an extremely soft, cellular plastic foam ball is marketed under the trademark NERF. The NERF recreation ball is not intended to be used by advanced baseball players for serious practice or training. NERF recreational balls are formed from open cell foams and are extremely light in weight.
Another prior art attempt to solve the problem of providing a safe, high performance and yet durable ball has been to employ a cork and rubber core similar to the type used at the center of regulation baseballs, except much softer. This cork and rubber core is wrapped in yarn (in a manner similar to a regulation baseball) and a layer of adhesive tape is added. The ball was covered with a double knit polyester cover of the type used on a RAG BALL baseball. This hybrid ball, a cross between a soft baseball and a RAG BALL, was marketed under the trademark TITUS II. The TITUS II ball had a weight in between that of a baseball and a RAG BALL and had desirable safety and performance characteristics.
While yarn-wrapped, dense and hard rubber and cork cores in regulation baseballs hold their shape and integrity under repeated use and impact with baseball bats, yarn-wrapped, soft rubber and cork cores do not. Adverse environmental conditions, moreover hasten the break-down of the matrix of soft rubber and cork forming the core. In addition any yarn-based ball absorbs water, increasing the ball weight undesirably, and water can get between the cork and rubber in the core.
Everyone who has gone to a family or office picnic is familiar with pick-up "baseball" games in which the players' skills range from non-existent to excellent. Such games are usually played on poor fields often confined in area, and 2 to 3 gloves are not infrequently all that are available for use by the six to ten players in the field. Use of a hardball in such situations is impossible because of the risk of injury, and even with a softball, it is not infrequent that players will be lost during the course of play due to injuries from being hit by the ball.
In a similar manner, poor weather often forces the play of ball sports indoors, for example, in a gymnasium. The risk of property damage in confined indoor areas from baseballs and softballs has largely relegated the use of gyms to ball sports such as basketball, volleyball and similar sports. Window breakage, abrasion and scuffing of floors and destruction of plasterboard, light fixtures and other property is almost certain to occur if a regulation baseball is used indoors. Insurance premiums for gymnasiums in which baseball practices are regularly held are higher as a result of the risk of physical property damage. Additionally, the risk of player injury increases dramatically as a result of the closer proximity of the players to each other, which is usually dictated by the building being used.
While a composite safety ball will never be a regulation baseball or softball because hardness is part of the regulation game, a safety ball can and should have sufficiently lively performance characteristics so as to enable the play of baseball-like games that are challenging, competitive and fun. The safety ball, however, must not be a "jackrabbit" ball that rebounds off playing surfaces unrealistically. Younger players, for example, can learn much about the game of baseball and basic skills by playing competitive baseball games with a realistically performing, safety baseball or softball.
The safety ball of the present invention is, therefore a training ball, a recreational ball and a game ball having performance characteristics which closely approach the performance characteristics of regulation baseballs and softballs. Additionally, the ball will not sting upon impact and is exceedingly durable and may be subjected to repeated and prolonged use.